National Scenic Byways
 Explore the rare and spectacular natural landscaping of the Loess Hills region of western Iowa, a fragile place of unique prairie flora and wildlife, farms and villages, nestled together among the catstep hills. Bluestem and scarlet sumac ripen under the big skies atop this rich yellow-brown loess — ancient soil gathered by winds of a receding age of ice into a high wall that follows the vast Missouri River Valley. The rugged range rises abruptly from the flatlands on the west and melts into the rolling plains on the east, extending 200 miles.
The Loess Hills Scenic Byway is a mosaic of designated roads that pass through this region in a general north/south direction, paralleling Interstate 29.
Follow the Loess Hills Scenic Byway signs along extreme western Iowa counties. North of Sioux City, follow Highway 12. Take Highway 982 south of Sioux City; Highways 175 from Onawa, 127 between Magnolia and Logan, 183 between Soldier and Council Bluffs, and 275 south of Council Bluffs.
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